BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator Wieckowski, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 1059
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|Author: |Eduardo Garcia |
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|Version: |2/26/2015 |Hearing |6/17/2015 |
| | |Date: | |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Laurie Harris |
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SUBJECT: California Communities Environmental Health Screening
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Under the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006,
requires the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to
determine the 1990 statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
level, to approve a statewide GHG emissions limit equivalent
to that level that will be achieved by 2020, and to adopt GHG
emissions reductions measures by regulation. ARB is
authorized to include the use of market-based mechanisms to
comply with the regulations. (Health and Safety Code (HSC)
§38500 et seq.)
2) Establishes the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) as a
special fund in the State Treasury; requires that all moneys,
except for fines and penalties, collected pursuant to a
market-based mechanism be deposited in the fund; and requires
the Department of Finance, in consultation with the state
board and any other relevant state agency, to develop, as
specified, a three-year investment plan for the moneys
deposited in the GGRF. (Government Code §16428.8)
3) Under the GGRF Investment Plan and Communities Revitalization
Act, for investment opportunities related to the GGRF
investment plan, requires the California Environmental
Protection Agency (CalEPA) to identify disadvantaged
communities based on geographic, socioeconomic, public
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health, and environmental hazard criteria, including areas
disproportionately affected by environmental pollution. (HSC
§39713)
4) Requires the GGRF investment plan to allocate a minimum of
25% of the funds to projects that benefit disadvantaged
communities and to allocate 10% of the funds to projects
located within disadvantaged communities. (HSC §39713)
5) Requires the ARB, in consultation with CalEPA, to develop
funding guidelines for administering agencies receiving
allocations of GGRF funds that includes a component for how
agencies should maximize benefits to disadvantaged
communities. (HSC §39715)
This bill:
1) Requires the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
(OEHHA) to update the California Communities Environmental
Health Screening (CalEnviroScreen) tool by using any relevant
environmental data relating to known impacts on the
environmental quality in communities at the California-Mexico
border region, including, but not limited to, air pollution,
water pollution, and toxic sites.
2) Requires OEHHA to report to the Legislature on any barriers
to accessing data for updating the tool by its next update or
by January 1, 2017, whichever is earlier.
Background
1) The CalEnviroScreen Tool and Disadvantaged Communities.
CalEnviroScreen was developed by OEHHA, at the request of
CalEPA, to determine a list of disadvantaged communities in
California that are the most vulnerable and
pollution-burdened. The tool will be used to help direct
those GGRF investments targeted for disadvantaged
communities, as well as to guide CalEPA in administering its
Environmental Justice Small Grants Program and prioritizing
resources for cleanup and abatement projects and outreach
efforts by the Agency.
CalEnviroScreen 2.0 is the most recent version, adopted in
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August 2014, after previous drafts underwent public review
with input from boards and departments that would be using
the tool. According to CalEPA, the current version
incorporates 19 indicators, including the addition of
indicators for drinking water and unemployment rate, enhances
the geographic scale by using approximately 8,000 census
tracts instead of zip codes, and has incorporated the most
up-to-date information. Indicators include those for
exposures, such as ozone concentrations, particulate matter
[PM] 2.5 concentrations, drinking water contaminants, and
toxic releases from facilities, as well as for environmental
effects, such as groundwater threats, hazardous waste, and
impaired water bodies. Indicators for sensitive populations
and socioeconomic factors are also incorporated.
2) CalEnviroScreen Updates for the California-Mexico Border.
According to the "Summary of Major Changes in CalEnviroScreen
2.0" update document, in October 2014 CalEnviroScreen 2.0 was
updated to account for gaps in environmental data along the
U.S.-Mexico border, including the incorporation of
information on:
a) Diesel particulate matter emissions, to account
for emissions from idling trucks waiting to cross from
Mexico into the U.S., specifically for the Otay and
Calexico East border crossings, and
b) Traffic density for a portion of the roads in
Mexico in close proximity to California (within a 150m
buffer, as was previously applied to other census tracts
within the state).
These changes were made in response to public workshops and
comment periods following the release of the August 2014
CalEnviroScreen draft.
The "Responses to Public Comments on the Method to Identify
Disadvantaged Communities Under Senate Bill 535" document was
also released in October 2014. In this report, one of the
major comments to which OEHHA and CalEPA responded was to
"address gaps in the data used by CalEnviroScreen 2.0 to
evaluate how pollution originating in Mexico contributes to
pollution burden in census tracts along the California-Mexico
border."
Though the aforementioned updates to diesel PM and traffic
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density at the border were incorporated, the ARB reported
that, for ozone and PM2.5 air monitoring measurements from
stations in Mexico, the data are not currently complete or of
sufficient quality to be incorporated into the
CalEnviroScreen. However, the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (US EPA) is placing two new PM2.5 monitors
at the border, including one at Calexico, with completion
estimated to be Spring 2017, at which time ARB can evaluate
the data.
For traffic density, OEHHA reports that the office
"recognizes that there are other major roadways within 150
meters of the U.S.-Mexico border. Resources permitting,
OEHHA will work with the California Department of Public
Health (the source of data for CalEnviroScreen's traffic
density indicator) to look into whether additional traffic
information is available and of sufficient quality to use in
future versions of CalEnviroScreen."
For toxic releases and hazardous waste from Mexican
facilities in close proximity to the border, OEHHA states
that "resources permitting, OEHHA could consult with US EPA
and the Department of Toxic Substances Control to determine
the feasibility of incorporating Mexican data into
CalEnviroScreen indicators."
1) California-Mexico Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to
Enhance Cooperation on Climate Change and the Environment.
In July of 2014, California and Mexico signed an MOU to
improve and protect the environment as part of a four-year
effort. The MOU calls for the development of a Joint Action
Plan with four priority action areas, including climate
change, air quality, wildfires, and clean vehicles. The
goals of this MOU are to share knowledge, information, and
experience, as well as coordinate planning efforts for air
quality along the border and improve air quality data
comparability between the two countries.
2) Health and Environmental Quality in Imperial County and the
California-Mexico Border Region.
According to the California Department of Public Health, as
of 2012, children in Imperial County were hospitalized for
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asthma at a rate that was three times higher than the state
average.
Per the US EPA Green Book list of nonattainment counties for
all criteria pollutants, as of January 2015, portions of
Imperial County were classified as serious for PM-10 and
moderate for PM-2.5. PM-2.5, referring to the fine particle
size of 2.5 micrometers in diameter, along with ozone, cause
significant adverse health effects, including heart and lung
disease, and are measured by a network of ARB air monitoring
stations across the state, though not all cities have
stations.
The New River, which flows north from Mexico, through
Calexico, to the Salton Sea, is one of the most polluted
rivers in the country, due to discharges from urban,
agricultural, and industrial sources in both Mexico and the
U.S. In response to concerns about the lack of data factored
in to CalEnviroScreen regarding polluted waterways that cross
the border, OEHHA responds, "Locations along the US-Mexico
border present a special challenge, particularly with respect
to sources of impact that originate outside of California for
which there are not reliable and comparable quantitative
measures. Some contributions are included in
CalEnviroScreen, such as
rivers designated by U.S. government entities as impaired
that flow into the U.S. from Mexico."
Comments
1) Purpose of Bill.
According to the author, "Border communities along the
California-Mexico border are severely impacted by idled
vehicles and trucks at the border. According to data from
the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), on average
approximately 2,400 trucks cross per day in Otay, 832 in
Calexico East, 151 in Tecate, and less than one in Andrade.
In my 56th Assembly District, specifically in Imperial County
whose economy is primarily driven by agriculture, idling
vehicles and trucks moving goods across the border combined
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with agricultural related air quality impacts places
significant environmental stress on the community. This
places the health and safety of the public living along the
border at risk. Having accurate air quality measuring tools
is essential to better understand the severity of the issue
and formulate action plans, as well as to help the same
communities better compete for AB 32 funding."
2) Use of CalEnviroScreen.
As noted by OEHHA Director George Alexeeff, "Rather than
looking at individual types of pollution in isolation,
CalEnviroScreen helps policymakers and scientists examine
multiple pollutants and factors at once." Thus, the goal of
the tool is to look at a number of indicators concurrently,
in order to have a comprehensive understanding of those areas
throughout the state that are most vulnerable to impacts from
environmental pollution.
With this in mind, it is important to update all relevant
indicators, including socioeconomic and sensitive population
indicators, so that the tool remains as comprehensive as
possible. Furthermore, indicators should be regularly
updated throughout the state, as new information is
available, and OEHHA has acknowledged that they are aware of
a number of potential data gaps in various regions.
3) Statutory Guidance on Border Updates.
Per the latest update to CalEnviroScreen, the areas within
which the majority of disadvantaged communities were
identified included the San Joaquin Valley, parts of Los
Angeles and the Inland Empire, and large portions of the
Coachella and Imperial Valleys and Mojave Desert, in addition
to communities located near industrial areas and major
roadways.
Given OEHHA's recognition of data deficiencies at the border,
the need to balance data analysis with availability of agency
resources, and the high numbers of disadvantaged communities
in this area of the state, perhaps the statutory direction in
AB 1059 would provide guidance in further updating this
portion of the tool.
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It should be noted that data gaps exist in some areas across
the state, not only the border region, and OEHHA works to
fill those gaps and keep the tool current. Given its
international border, the region in this bill is somewhat
unique. While a report on data gaps for this specific region
will provide additional clarity for interested groups, it may
also set a precedent of regionally-focused reporting
requirements which can slow down the update process for the
tool.
4) Broad Goals need to be Clarified.
The current language in the bill is very broad, requesting
updates to air and water pollution and toxic sites from any
relevant data. Per OEHHA and CalEPA's comments as of the
October 2014 update, it seems that all data of sufficient
quality available to-date has been included, and deficiencies
in air quality and toxic site data have been acknowledged.
Additionally, agencies are conducting studies to evaluate air
quality in communities in the southern part of San Diego
County (conducted by the University of Washington in
2015-2017), in the southern parts of Imperial County,
including the Calexico border (University of Washington and
the California Environmental Health Tracking Program), and
near the San Ysidro border crossing for fine particles (US
EPA and San Diego Air Pollution Control District).
Given that OEHHA and CalEPA are aware of the deficiencies in
data and work is being conducted currently that would inform
future CalEnviroScreen updates, in addition to the fact that
CalEnviroScreen already incorporates the broad categories of
air and water pollution and toxic sites in their indicators,
the following proposed amendments are needed to provide
clarity and focus in obtaining the necessary data for
incorporation into the tool:
a) In order to list the provisions of the bill in
chronological order to improve flow, the reporting
requirement of the bill (subdivision (c), lines 20-25)
should be moved to precede the update to the tool in
subdivision (b).
b) In order to provide clarity about what data needs to be
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updated, strike "any relevant environmental data" and add
language to specify deficiencies, barriers to access, and
current and future studies and plans to obtain data
regarding air quality, water quality, and toxic sites
necessary for updating the tool.
c) In order to provide additional focus on what data is
necessary, add language that the reporting requirement may
include, but not be limited to, those gaps noted
previously by OEHHA, including air quality measurements
for ozone and PM2.5, vehicle emissions at border
crossings, complete traffic density data within 150 meters
of the border, water quality data for waterways that cross
the border, and the feasibility of incorporating Pollutant
Release and Transfer Registry information from Mexico into
the tool.
d) In order to allow OEHHA and CalEPA to most efficiently
update and utilize the tool, the update requirement
(subdivision (b), lines 15-19) should be modified to note
that, once the relevant data is identified, as specified,
the office shall include the data in the next update of
the tool.
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 535 (De Leon), Chapter 830, Statutes of 2012, required the
GGRF investment plan to allocate 25% of the funds to projects
that benefit disadvantaged communities and 10% to projects
located within those communities.
AB 1079 (V. Perez, Statutes of 2009, Chapter 382), required the
California-Mexico Border Relations Council to create a strategic
plan to study, monitor, remediate and enhance the water quality
of the New River in Imperial County to protect human health and
develop a river parkway suitable for public use and enjoyment.
SOURCE: Comité Cívico del Valle
SUPPORT:
Desert Protective Society
Eastside (LA) Coalition Against Exide
Imperial County Air Pollution Control District
Labelgmos.org
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La Union Hace la Fuerza
Our Roots Multi-Cultural Center
Seeley Citizens United
The Environmental Justice Coalition for Water
The Family Treehouse
Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment (CAREs)
Valley Improvement Projects (VIP)
OPPOSITION: None received
ARGUMENTS IN
SUPPORT:
According to a coalition of organizations in support, "There is
currently an absence of empirical evidence that tells the story
of the California-Mexico border. OEHHA and California Air
Resources Board (ARB) have acknowledged the deficiency and have
recommended further study. Given the characteristics of the
border, both natural and man-made, there are several variables
to consider. Many vehicles sit idle while waiting for both
Customs and Immigration inspections. This process of thorough
inspection requires time which results in increased carbon
emissions, negative health impacts and could potentially limit
economic feasibility."
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